Israel intercepts Gaza-bound activist boat carrying food aid

The pro-Palestinian group Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) claims that Israeli troops rose aboard a boat that was trying to provide food aid to the Gaza band by sea.

He said the Handala ship was intercepted in international waters.

Video sequences allegedly showed the activists on board with their hands while several armed soldiers took control of the ship.

The Israeli foreign ministry said that the country’s navy had prevented the boat from “to enter the Maritime Zone of the Gaza” and break the blockade illegally.

He added that the ship “heads for the banks of Israel” and that “all passengers are safe”.

In a press release on X, the ministry said that “unauthorized attempts to vioder the blockade are dangerous, illegal and undergo the current humanitarian efforts”.

He gave no details on where the boat was intercepted.

Meanwhile, the FFC said that the crew of 19 Handala activists and two journalists from various countries – including Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States – had been “kidnapped” by Israeli soldiers.

The group has also published a number of videos with crew members urging people around the world to put pressure on their respective governments to “sanction” Israel.

The boat was carrying a baby formula in Gaza, said one of the FFC activists in an article on social networks.

In June, a yacht with 12 activists on board – including Greta Thunberg in Sweden – was intercepted by the Israeli army at around 185 km (115 miles) west of Gaza.

This expedition, also organized by the FFC, aimed to provide aid to Gaza in defiance of the blockade of Israel and to highlight the humanitarian crisis.

At the time, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected it as a “selfie yacht” transporting “less than a single aid truck”. He added that the help transported on the FFC boat, which included baby’s formula and medicine, would be transferred to Gaza “by real humanitarian channels”.

Israel and Egypt began to apply a blocking of Gaza when Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 by ousting its rivals, a year after winning the legislative elections.

Israel arrested all humanitarian aid and commercial supplies in Gaza on March 2 and resumed its military offensive two weeks later, to collapse a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel has since priority the distribution of aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which he supports with the United States.

The UN and other aid groups refuse to cooperate with the new system, affirming that it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said it had made an air -humanitarian aid card in Gaza, after weeks of international pressure and an increasing hunger crisis in Palestinian territory.

Later, Israeli Defense Forces (FDI) said that it would open humanitarian corridors for assistance to Gaza to allow the UN and other organizations to deliver food and drugs to the Palestinians through the strip. The routes will be in place from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time (04:00 BST at 9:00 p.m. BST).

The FDIs also announced what he called a “local tactical break in military activity” for “humanitarian purposes” in three areas – al Mawasi, Deir al -Balah and Gaza City – from 10 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time (8:00 a.m. BST at 6:00 p.m. BST) every day until further notice.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the cross -border attack led by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 59,676 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas Ministry of Hamas in the territory.